DUNLAP — If Peoria is a theoretical dog, Dunlap Community Unit School District 323 might be a tail.

"What they decide to do, then we wag," said Amy Fairfield Doering, the Dunlap School Board president.

Fairfield Doering and other Dunlap school officials hope to achieve more-coordinated waggings regarding Peoria municipal decisions. That's particularly true in connection with expansion and development plans in Far North and Northwest Peoria, parts of which are in the Dunlap district.

Later this month, school district and city officials intend to meet. According to Fairfield Doering and Dunlap Superintendent Jay Marino, subsequent talks might be scheduled monthly or quarterly.

"It's something that's long overdue," said Mayor Jim Ardis, who conducts such confabs regularly with Peoria School District 150 officials.

Marino said his district and the city have communicated informally as needed.

"What we want to do is put a little more structure to it, so that there's regular opportunities to have two-way dialogue and exchange," he said. "So that the city understands the decisions they're making and their impact on the district, as well as the district understanding the decisions being made at the city level."

Most of those decisions involve how Peoria planning and zoning affect Dunlap enrollment. Over the past decade or so, the school district has grown from relatively rural roots to more than 4,000 students and a pseudo-suburban orientation.

According to Marino, school construction projects usually are at least two-year processes. The longer the district's lead time, the better it can plan to accommodate an enrollment increase that might result from new housing constructed in Peoria.

"Then we're not surprised by whatever they grant some developer," Fairfield Doering said, "and we have to hold our breath until the development is done and we have to see how many kids we're going to get."

Fairfield Doering cited a possible Peoria annexation of about 34 acres of unincorporated land along Illinois Route 91 north of The Shoppes at Grand Prairie. Multi-family residential development might be an option for that property.

"The more visibility we have to what's being planned, the better off we're going to be," Marino said. "We're going to have it on our radar a lot quicker than we do today."

The Dunlap-Peoria discussions are expected to include Ardis, 5th District City Councilman Casey Johnson, members of the Planning and Zoning commissions and municipal staff.

Johnson represents areas of Peoria that overlap the Dunlap district. About 70 percent of Dunlap students have Peoria mailing addresses, according to Ardis.

"I never am shy about saying Peoria is proud of that school district," he said. "It's not like it's not us. It is us."

Nick Vlahos can be reachedat 686-3285 or nvlahos@pjstar.com.Follow him on Twitter @VlahosNick.